Sunday, December 23, 2018

Titans: Spoiler-Lite Review


The 11-episode arc of season one has finally come to an abrupt end (one episode shorter than was originally touted), so now's as good a time as any to give my two cents about the show.

Now, if you had watched the trailers for the TV show, you knew that they were going for a really edgy feel with this series. In any case, that seems to be the baseline for most DCEU fanfare (with the exception of perhaps Aquaman). Once you heard a "pre-NightWing" Robin (Brenton Thwaites) drop the F-bomb whilst referring to Batman, you should've known that they weren't playing.

The central conflict on this story revolves around Rachel Roth (Teagan Croft) who will become the future Raven. Her inner demons have awakened, and a dark cabal of individuals come out of the woodwork to try to ensure that the darkest permutation of her potential future comes to pass. Fate, however, conspires to place her into the hands of Dick Grayson who does his best to keep her as his ward. Along the way, Koriand'r (aka Cory Ander aka StarFire), an amnesiac pyrokinetic  and Gar Logan (aka Beast Boy) join in to protect Raven.

The show is a slow-burn for most of its run because it decided to bring the team together when all its heroes are pretty new to their abilities, with the exception of Robin. Having to sit through an amnesiac StarFire, Raven and Beast Boy slowly coming to terms with their abilities saps the life out of the show. They chose a "Hero-of-the-week" type format to introduce us to other superheroes within this shared universe in order to propel the story in different directions. In some cases, this plays out interestingly because it answers the question concerning Robin's replacement in Gotham once he parts ways with Batman; it also serves to expose Beast Boy's comic book origins in which he was initially affiliated with the Doom Patrol. It also finds a compelling way to deal with the changed Hawk and Dove roster that also occurred in the comics with what proved to be one of the strongest arcs captured in the show (Episode: Hank and Dawn).

For all the potential teased earlier on, the show fails to deliver in a lot of areas. This new edginess, complete with extreme cursing, is a mere crutch that most times tries to disguise edginess for poorly written characters. The level of angst a lot of the characters portray doesn't feel earned in the least. Robin is extremely ultra-violent and blames Batman for just about everything, but this merely comes off as him being ungrateful, and the way events play out, he appears to be more "fallen" than his mentor. He is sanctimonious, but there really isn't a good display of core character to even make you side with him. His replacement, Jason Todd, is an even worse caricature and is an outright villain. If you've watched the impressive DC animated movie "Batman: Under the Red Hood", you'd know Jason Todd's future pretty well, and you'd see that this series is selling him pretty short. The only character who only really seems to organically shine in this faux pas world is Donna Troy, and even her cursing seems appropriate when she openly curses out Robin later on in the series.

Some of the CGI choices are also a bit questionable. Sure, it might happen in quick cuts in which they need to show us a hero jumping off some massive height, but it comes off as really poorly done. You can spot the digital duplicate from a mile away; it seems like even half-decent "wire work" would have made a better stylistic choice. They probably also bit off more than they could chew by choosing to bring Beast Boy into the mix. For whatever reason, we are only stuck with him transforming into his Tiger form for the entirety of this season; if that wasn't enough, they are choosing to have some level of realism in this, meaning that he has to strip in and out of his clothes to make these transformations. It gets annoying pretty quickly, and it makes you long for the animated Teen Titans  show whereby his suit just automatically changed with him in and out of transformations.

I have to go after the wardrobe department on this one too. StarFire (Anna Diop) seems to spend a lot of time in the same outfit. This is a lady who's dishing out $100 bills at the drop of a hat, but can't seem to change out of her purple suit. I can understand that they're trying to channel her costume from other media, but it left me cringing just as much as when I watched Marvel's Slob-supreme,  Jessica Jones. (Made me feel like I needed a shower). Come to think of it, Beast Boy also suffers from a similar setback. They definitely needed to be a differentiation for their costumes and their street-wear, which is obviously done well with Robin.

Lastly, I can understand that they're trying to shed the "Teen" from "Teen Titans", and so they've ramped up the maturity level a whole lot on this one. Relationships that occurred organically throughout the course of the comics will definitely be rehashed in this series. However, at this point they're just ham-fisting these relationships; and they're making it worse by mixing it up with some poor sex scenes. You can see some of these moments coming from a mile away, and it just leaves you feeling like the showrunners are striving for the lowest common denominator. This edginess for edginess' sake will be the end of the DCEU. The fundamentals still remain the same - people want to relate to these characters, empathize with them; and if we can't empathize, at least we need to understand their spirals down destructive paths.

Watching this season felt like an arduous task, and to tell you the truth, without any clear hinted saving grace in terms of interesting character development and proper plot-pacing for the next season, this might be as far as I go with this series.

I rate this a solid C.

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse "Spoiler-Free" Review






It is indeed a rare occasion when an animated feature gives more traditional films a run for their money. This movie was stacked up against quite a number of odds: Sony hasn't had a good record of representing the web-head on screen since the critically acclaimed Spider-Man II; Sam Raimi's Spider-Man III fell short because of studio interference, and The Amazing Spider-Man franchise was an unnecessary addition that disintegrated when it sacrificed concise storytelling for the sake of trying to saddle us with a spin-off that no one requested (basically, the Blade Trinity treatment). Tom Holland's Spider-Man is basically touted as an MCU-property, and then we've had the strange spin-off that was Venom.

On top of that, they chose to give us an alternative protagonist choice in the form of the Ultimate Universe's Miles Morales, in addition to weaving the stories of multiple spider-folk from alternate universes. Lastly, they opted for an art-house look to this movie, to give us the feeling a comic was unfolding in front of our eyes.

I am glad to proclaim that everything about this movie works. It is a beautiful introduction to Miles Morales, his complicated relationship with his cop-father who tries to balance his love for Miles with the need to ensure that he can secure a better future for his son; we also delve into Miles' relationship with his uncle, Aaron Davis (his father's estranged brother), who embraces Miles' awkwardness and offers a respite to the turn of events bulldozing through Miles' life. Of course the spider bite throws an even bigger wrench into Miles' life, and leads him on a path of self discovery.

It might have been hard for Miles to pick up on the superhero biz if he was left to his own devices, but, luckily, the rest of the Spiderverse comes to his aid. Peter Parker (Sam Raimi's version) serves as Miles principal mentor, providing a sarcastic, grizzled and jaded outlook to the fledgling superhero's expectations. However, deep down, he still maintains the compassion necessary to empathize with Miles' innocence, confusion and slow start to heroism. Spider-Gwen (an alternate Gwen Stacy), is Miles' peer, and provides an alternative to Peter Parker's war-weary view on the world.

Going by the clips already released, you realize that Spider-Man Noir, Peni Parker and Spider-Ham get smaller roles in this movie; however, they chew up the scenes in which they star. Nicholas Cage's over-the-top black and white characterization gives Noir a seriousness that is very comical. Spider-Ham is something out of a Looney Toons short, fitting perfectly into the absurd mould cast for him, and even proving that a cuddly cartoon character is not one to be messed with. I feel like Peni Parker got the short end of the stick when it comes to vocal characterization, but she is a packaged deal (her and her robot sidekick), so we get something of a montage of her doing science-y things within the robot.

A lot of praise needs to be given to the assembly of the rogues' gallery for this spectacle. The Kingpin is a hulking behemoth of a man, and as if that wasn't enough, he has multiple enforcers (one of whom is such a lovely surprise that organically unfolds in the course of the movie). The Prowler definitely makes this seem like more than a PG-movie, because he is a scary character who provides a fair share of jump-scares. Whenever he's around, he's shrouded by an eerie guttural growl that makes him seem like a wraith. Tombstone plays out like a typical enforcer, and the (monstrous) Green Goblin and Scorpion are characterized as more brawn than brains. As the main antagonist, Kingpin's story borrows a lot from Netflix's portrayal by Vincent D'Onofrio, juxtaposing his ruthlessness against his ultimate motives.

Everything about this movie screams an appreciation for the rich Spider-Man lore that's preceded it, even poking fun at Raimi's Spider-Man III or an age old Spider-Man meme. The style of this movie is unique, and there's nothing jarring about it. From the very beginning, they set out to make a unique living comic book, and it provides a feast for the senses whether it's approaching the slower sentimental parts or wowing us with jaw-dropping action sequences.

The soundtrack also elevates this movie to another level. I've been on Youtube, and what's listed as the soundtrack is mostly current features, most of which are autotune and triplet flow heavy. Some of the tracks are more enjoyable when they're not divorced from the movie, and it is really sad that they haven't published a version of "What's up Danger" that's accompanied by the movie score as occurs in the "Becoming Spider-Man clip"; however, there are old school tracks peppered aplenty within the movie. Watching Miles' pursue a day at school to the tune of Blackalicious' "Chemical Calesthenics" is a godsend; listening to Aaron Davis play and then modulate the levels for Biggie's "Hypnotize" will have you wilding out in the theatre when you hear it. Congratulations to the crate-diggers who made this movie a reality.

Lastly, thanks are due for a writing team that respected both the source material and the audience to whom they present it. The comedy always lands, but they do not shy away from giving us the deep conflict that Stan Lee always sought to show us is inherent to being a hero like Spider-Man despite the insurmountable odds. They weave loss deep into the fabric of this movie, again reflecting that sacrifice and helplessness are also tied to the life of a hero.

I could not sing enough praises for this movie because it is the total package, a breath of fresh air in a movie landscape that has not posed too many surprises lately. I definitely have to watch it again to relive this experience anew. A world class A+ for this magical feat.

God Bless.

Sunday, December 16, 2018

Reasons Why Matatu Culture Needs to Die!

Lord knows there's no love lost between me and the matatu industry, especially now that I've spent enough time behind the steering wheel of a car to know how infinitely hazardous they are on the roads. However, for a little reference, I will give you an experience from my time spent in China

Anyone who's been to China will no doubt be familiar with the dynamics of things during the Spring Festival (their Lunar New Year Celebrations). Things in a lot of places can come to a literal standstill as people travel to their hometowns for the celebrations, literally turning some locales into ghost towns. Such was the scenario I faced in Chashan, Wenzhou, which was the location for our university town. Well, as luck would have it, while everyone was disappearing for the holidays, I still had to commute to the city for my internship -commitments at the hospital. I remember setting off one morning, and there were only about 3 other commuters on the bus. The bus driver dutifully stopped at each bus stop, and kept time. I think there were never more than 10 commuters on that bus, but we suffered no delays and business went on as usual 

Compare this to the typical Kenyan scenario that takes place on the weekends, in my case on Sundays.

Kenya is a not a unique case when it comes to the issue of Matatus. Just the other day, someone made it known to me that even South Africa has something akin to the matatu industry; I remember my Ghanaian friends mentioning "Tro Tros", and even remarking about how glad they were that bus fares down in Wenzhou wouldn't suddenly shoot up for no apparent reason during the rainy season (exploiting people is definitely a cultural universal).

Personally, growing up in Kenya in the 80s was a diametrically different experience. Matatus were something of a rarity; we actually had a functioning Bus system (the Kenya Bus Service - KBS), which had been in play for the longest time. It had a wide reaching and functional network, with clearly laid out fares and bus times (unbeknownst to me, it was a private company). I don't think I even entered a matatu before the mid 90s. One would wonder why matatus were actually introduced when the formal bus system was doing such a good job of getting commuters to their destinations so efficiently. As with all things in Kenya, the reason was Greed. As I've heard it explained, seeking to capitalize on the transport industry, government officials in Jomo Kenyatta's government sought his permission to introduce the vehicles as an extra source of income. (Perhaps it was linked to someone's acquiring of a Nissan Urvan tender - tenderpreneurship has always run deep in this country). Never truly fully legislated, the matatu industry went on to grow in prominence like a cancer.

It was very sad that the Kenya Bus Company went on to flounder in the latter part of the 90s. For a private company with all its resources and reputation which was practically ingrained into Kenyan psyches to fail so dramatically was something of a miracle. However, after having dealt with a slew of such mishaps in the recent memorable past (Uchumi, Nakumatt), it has become increasingly clear that the issue is always mismanagement; sometimes it is merely mismanagement with an aim of scuttling a business so as to make it easier to establish a similar business in the same market space. At least, this appears to be what George Thuo did as he rose through the ranks at KBS, and then left it to form his own transport company - City Hoppa.

With few exceptions, attempts to regulate the matatu industry have really been failures. The "Michuki Rules" seemed to be a step in the right direction, but those truly only worked because they were one man's Iron-willed affront (backed by the President) to a practically rogue entity. The matatus initially rose up defiantly and went on a massive strike, but Hon. Michuki stuck to his guns and business sense prevailed. "The Michuki Rules" were not perfect, but they were a start in the right direction.  Only problem is that President Kibaki followed this massive success by moving Hon. Michuki to the Ministry of Environment and replaced him with Amb. Ali Mwakwere. The gains made under Hon. Michuki were eroded almost immediately, but the death knell happened during one moment Kenyans vividly remember: as usual, the Ministry of Transport had deployed its familiar routine of mounting roadside operations to put the matatus in check; shortly afterwards, Amb. Mwakwere called off the operation, citing the fact that even he as a matatu owner was suffering. After that, the plummet back to sheer lawlessness is history.

Recently, parliamentarians have been calling for a resumption of the "Michuki Rules" on our roads in order to try to bring some sanity to the transport industry. In my opinion, this is a rather lazy course of action. The "Michuki Rules"had their time and place: what they really were was a symbol that matatus could be controlled if the right kind of pressure was applied. However, they were not perfect and needed to be revised. Two immediate revisions are as follows:

  1.  There is no need to outlaw standing in buses. The world over, people stand in buses: the buses are actually designed for it
    Solution: Dedicated Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lanes coupled with larger buses would both help to ease traffic jams and aid in shuttling passengers to their destinations.
  2. Wearing seatbelts in a bus is unnecessary.
    I realized this might have been a way for them to ensure that only a specific number of passengers were carried within a vehicle, but it is actually a safety hazard. People surmise that seatbelts will help in case of an accident, but the opposite is true. First off, the seatbelts have only been retrofitted, not designed with the specific vehicle from the beginning. Second, the seatbelts are usually poorly-adjusted, which was a reason why so many of them hang down to the floor, picking up all manner of dirt that will end up deposited on your clothing. Third, what exactly are you tethering the passenger to? The seats in our matatus are merely welded to the sheet metal that lightly sits on top of the chassis, and when an accident arises, the seats just tumble like dominoes, effectively trapping you under a cascade of chairs. The seatbelt would only further impede your ability to be extricated from such a wreck.

    In the short time that I worked at an Orthopaedic Department, I saw 2 leg fractures that arose from 2 matatu accidents with a similar scenario to the one listed above. Talking to engineers and orthopaedic surgeons will only make you aware of how precarious the situation really is.

    Solution: the institutions in-charge really have to tackle this from the start - ensuring proper body construction, and that the matatus are driven within proper speed limits.
I am sincerely amazed at the carelessness of matatu drivers on the road. The other day, as I was driving,  I witnessed a matatu basically force someone to swerve off the road to avoid an impending calamity. I can remember one policeman remarking during my driving license test that "Matatu drivers are probably the best drivers because they know all the rules, and thus how to skirt around them." His point was basically a rebuttal of the assumption that roads could be made safer by forcing matatu drivers to retake driving licensing tests, because they would basically pass them without any issues.

However, I'm reaching out to a higher ideal here. We cannot continue to have the most reckless foolhardy drivers transporting the majority of our populace and not expect a high level calamity to occur...it is just insane. I've ridden in buses in both the US and China, and can without a doubt attest that the bus drivers are the safest drivers on the roads. That especially comes in handy in a place like China because most other road users are resounding lunatics. I remember one time seeing a college student on a scooter just calmly merge carelessly onto a road, cutting off a bus driver, and forcing the driver to stop dramatically. Having a matatu in the hands of a reckless driver is basically turning the matatu into an armed missile; hurtling at neck breaking speed, it really is just a petrol bomb aimed at innocent bystanders and fellow road users, and also likely a sarcophagus for its passengers. We need to take the "maximum number of trips = maximum profits" away from the industry so that we can focus on safety and sanity. 

However, matatu culture is not merely the preserve of matatus; the whole transport industry also sadly indulges in it. I have a big issue with matatus stopping all over the place. One day a driver must just have been trying to test my patience: he stopped in the middle of the road to drop off a passenger; then, I kid you not, he drove 15 metres ahead and pulled off into a bus stop to pick up a few passengers!!! However, driving along some roads, it's very easy to notice that there is not one single designated bus stop for public service vehicles to pull into. Therefore, is it any wonder that matatus are so unruly if even the authorities cannot provide such simple fixes.

In the same vein, it has always been a foolish idea to use the police to enforce these "traffic operations". I was disgusted at how diligent officers appeared to be about stopping matatus once the "Michuki Rules" were re-introduced, yet they were the same ones previously abetting matatus in their bad behaviour so long as they got a bribe. At one previous point, I remember passing as many as 18 policemen scattered between 3 checkpoints on my early morning commute, and that didn't count for any sort of deterrence because perilous matatu driving was the norm. It is an infinitely foolish idea to underpay an entire rung of essential service personnel, and expect them to act honourably. Add to this the fact that Kenya lacks any sort of effective "Conflict of Interest" laws and you end up with politicians (the likes of Amb. Mwakwere) and even the very policemen who are supposed to protect us indulging in the very industry that they are meant to surveil.

We really have to go back to basics in order to deal with this colossal mess. Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja believes that the answer is for the government to provide a metro system that he feels could be profitable, which I feel is a bit misguided. Governments the world over heavily subsidize metro systems, to the point of incurring visible losses just so that they can ensure that people are efficiently shuttled to their destinations. It all balances out in the end because everyone knows that enduring traffic jams pose a financial impediment, as well as contributing additional stress and health hazards to the populace sitting in traffic. Quite simply speaking, there is no room for matatus and "matatu culture" in the considerations of a well-functioning Kenya; maybe as just a vestigial accessory, but not as the principal means of transporting our people around.

I wish Pres. Kenyatta would pursue this issue with more vigour than he does the SGR (Standard Gauge Railway). The SGR probably won't even be profitable before his term in office ends; however, 1 - 2 years of consistent attention paid to public transportation would have fully borne all its fruit. The question is whether anyone's really thinking about this issue; our slumbering Members of Parliament are simply slapping an outdated band-aid on a system that they've never even bothered to understand because they've never had to use it.

God Almighty, please show us the way 

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - Mild Spoiler Review



This played out like a Harry Potter movie!

That really isn't saying a lot: I loved the Harry Potter books, but I hated all the movies. This was one of the few times where I'd read the book before encountering a movie, but there was just something that the movies fared poorly at translating to screen. I was especially peeved that they were unable to make any useful headway in bringing "The Prisoner of Azkaban" - the most adult-oriented, and in my opinion,the best of the books - to the big screen.

Bearing that in mind, I had loved the very first Fantastic Beasts feature. Sure, everyone knew that it was in the "Harry Potter Universe", but that didn't stop it from being a wonderful self-contained story. We were given an idiosyncratic protagonist whose misadventures and fascination with the extraordinary were a joy to watch. However, lingering in the undertones of the movie was the antagonist - Grindelwald: though his presence may have been guised for most of the movie, it made for an unlikely reveal at the end of the movie. I grew invested in the main posse of Newt, Jacob, Tina and Queenie, and it was saddening to see Jacob's memories of all the whole incident erased; however, his baking creations drew eerie inspiration from his time with Newt, and of course, Queenie did pop on by to visit him.

From that wonderfully nuanced bit of storytelling, we are thrust into this new instalment which is forcefully trying to weave itself immediately into as much of Harry Potter's lore it can within the movie's runtime. Don't get me wrong, Jude Law played a nice rendition of a youthful Dumbledore, and his relationship with Grindelwald (brilliantly played by Johnny Depp) complicates his ability to go to war with the series antagonist; however, they abruptly insert Credence (played by Ezra Miller), whose "curse"(the Obscurus) provided quite the spectacle in the prior instalment's finale. It was saddening to see him seemingly vaporized, but we held out some form of hope that he'd survived after Newt noted that a fragment of the Obscurus survived. None of that is acknowledged in this movie, and instead we find him on a quest to unearth his family; and along for the ride, we have Nagini. Now, I had totally forgotten that Nagini was in fact Voldemort's massive snake from the Harry Potter series, but after the useless part she played in the plot, this bit of fan service just fell flat on its face.

Another atrocity is the manner in which Queenie and Jacob are handled this time around; they are in a full-blown relationship (undercover, of course), but tensions are rising between them because the tenets of the magical world forbid them from getting married. Queenie, as evidenced from her last outing, is a powerful "telepath", but it seems like they use her lovesickness to drag her character down an unlikely path.

Worst of all, however, is the poor manner in which the story is told. I realize that they laid this out as a five movie deal from the start, but that doesn't absolve them from the right to give us completely contained stories. There are so many loose ends and unnecessary plot points to this movie, that it seems that they are trying to pose all the questions that will be answered in the next 3 movies. The way that try to make Credence resoundingly important by throwing a smoke screen about his lineage was the worst of these sins. To also try to make us believe that Grindelwald has any chance of working with Credence after the final events of the first movie is beyond suspension of disbelief.

This movie shook me to my core. I've heard people call this a "cash-grab", and I certainly can't say that they're wrong. It got so bad watching this, that though there were 3 girls seated next to me fan-girling for two-thirds of the movie, I couldn't even bring myself to care about their poor cinema etiquette. There isn't much "Fantastic Beasts" about this instalment, and it remains to be seen whether they'll continue to maintain that moniker going forward because I'm certain that'll only be diluted further in subsequent sequels

In fact, I change my initial statement about this movie: this was WORSE than a Harry Potter movie. Not even worth watching on Bootleg DVD. D- material!!!